After digging out the driveway yesterday for the fourth time
from this storm, Buddy and I had his annual date with the vet. One of the requirements for that visit was
getting a stool sample. Usually that is more than easy since Buddy is a prodigious
donor of said material. The sixteen
inches of snow had covered his fertile field of samples and I was relying on an
early morning constitutional. Buddy
obliged but again this was fresh snow. In
one of the indignities of canine ownership, there I was, plastic bag in hand trying
to mine down to the level his deposit had melted to. It was the first time the cold came in handy
because I wasn’t smelling much of anything.
 |
| I Know There's Another Dog on the Other Side of that Door |
Buddy had a great time at the vet’s where he achieved a
clean bill (but certainly not cheap).
There was an absolutely stunning golden retriever behind the desk and
they were frantic to get at each other to do some prolonged sniffing. Buddy ended up on one side of a door and the
golden on the other. They spent a lot of
time sniffing under the door.
 |
| C'mon - Open the Door |
I love golden retrievers, a legacy of the fondly remembered departed
Skyla and Estrella. While I love Buddy unconditionally
and he’s certainly a character above characters, I’m sure my next dog will be a
golden. I’ve never met one that didn’t
immediately want to be friends, just the gentlest, friendliest breed in
existence.
 |
| The Beautiful Sandy |
A really slow day at work as Worcester dug out from the storm. I finished printing out the first year of
blog posts for some theorized grandchild to read in some distant future (no
pressure guys – honest J).
Even though I didn’t print out most of the pictures – this is gong to be bigger
than I thought. Luckily I am no longer
constrained by a weight allowance for household moves.
 |
| Year 1 - To be Read in About Twenty Years |
I returned home to yet a fifth snow blowing requirement as the
heavy winds had repositioned some of the snow back onto the driveway. Luckily I had a Zorba’s pizza in my immediate
future. The pink haired waitress even stopped
by to update me on her future hair coloring plans. It was kind of sad seeing all the couples out
for Valentines Day at candlelit tables (Zorba’s went all out) with my Valentine
so geotropically misplaced. I balanced the sadness with some truly memorable cake - God I love keto vacation days.
 |
| Cake and Beer! |
I returned home for some serious hunkering down time to
combat the effects of the cold. I
finshed the 1000 piece puzzle and I hope I never see an English cottage again
(it got frustrating at certain points). I
spoke at length with the wife who headed out with her sisters for an evening
out at the local casino. She reported
the same kind of melancholy at seeing all the couples out for Valentines
Day. Apparently that manufactured
American holiday has migrated south to Panama (I’m sure the flower and
card cartels had something to do with that).
 |
| Puzzle Down |
 |
| A Warm Kiss From Down Panama Way |
 |
| Out With Her Friends Last Night |
I just finished reading my friend Tom Kratman’s latest sci
fi opus in his Carerra saga – Come and Take Them. It’s a continuation of the war in a future alternate
earth between the country of Balboa (exact replica of Panama) and the
Tauran Union (read European Union). As
with all of his books there is a great deal of accurate military detail and
scathing indictment of European progressiveness – so win/win.
It was interesting to follow the flow of battle just having
returned from Panama myself
and having shared at least part of Tom’s own assignment to Panama back in
the early 1980’s. He has some very important
things to say about how truly effective military power cold be wielded, if the
world was a little less constrained by civilization. A great read and I can’t wait for the next
one to come out as we only got through the first half of the war. Anyone who enjoys military science fiction (guilty) should definitely check out Tom's work.
No comments:
Post a Comment